Why no ‘pay at the pump’ in UK?

[Enrichetta]

Why don’t we have pay at the pump technology like they have in other countries, for instance the US…

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jul/21/petrol-theft-crisis-uk

it seems an obvious solution to what has clearly become a real,problem.

Tesco petrol stations have had pay at pump for years

There is.

We've had pay at the pump for years, decades even.

The link doesn't work for me but we do have pay at the pump

I must have been hallucinating the last 100 times I got petrol if we don’t have it in the UK

Obviously we do have pay at pump technology and we have done for years. Are you asking why we aren't forcing everyone to use it? Because that's a different question.

What?! 🤣🤣

the US is well behind the UK in things like this, mainly due to their size and lack of connectedness in huge parts of the country.

the uk has had pay at pump for decades.

Huh?

we have

My dd is twenty three and I definitely was using pay at the pump when she was a tiny baby. And I did not live anywhere particularly urban.

Shell, BP, Sainsbury’s, Esso and Tescos have this. I sometimes use this but sometimes go inside to buy stuff which is when I don’t use it. Some require you to have an app to pay at the pump.

Costco is only pay at pump. Small independents haven't invested in new pumps which is why they don't have it.

We’ve had pay at the pump for at least 20 years 😂

We do. I used it this morning at a Tesco station.

our Asda has pay at the pump

My local asda is unmanned. 100% only pay at pump!!

We have been using it since I before i learned to drive! It’s rare not to have it, tiny rural places maybe

we do.
I prefer to pay the kiosk but the choice is there at the majority of places.

I worked in a Tesco petrol station in the late 90s to 2000, and we had pay at pump then.

Do you mean like in America where you pay then fill up

I haven't used a non pay at pump garage for years. Can't be doing with people faffing in the shop and taking forever to come out and move their car.

It's over a decade since I did a West Coast roadtrip but most of the pumps required advanced payment either as pay at pump or pay first (or leave your card at the till) and then dispense the fuel. The pump was disabled until you made payment. It was less anti theft and more reducing how many staff you need. Except in Oregon where they still pump the gas for you. The customer is not allowed to pump their own fuel.

So I guess the question is not why do we not have full pay at pump but why do petrol stations still allow you to fill up ahead of paying?

Do you not drive? They are everywhere.
They are not the only option though and that is how people can fill up and run. Some pumps have both pay at pump/pay at kiosk, some just have the one option.
I don't use pay at the pump as they bag £100 of your cash until the payment goes through and I've known people who haven't had the extra they take returned and have to chase after it.
I worked in a petrol station way back when you could pay by cheque! Had loads of runners.

There are?

As everyone has said
What we dont have (at least not near me) is the little auto switch gadget like in the US so it asks you how much say £40 then automatically switches off at £40 and there used to be the option where there was a clip so it held the punp "open" before the shut off so you didnt even need to hold the nossle

Apologies for non technical terminology

We've only recently had it locally (last 3 or 4 years, when Sainsburys started it here) and still only about half the petrol stations have it. I never use it because I don't tend to carry my loyalty cards and have to go inside to use them on Apple pay (I do carry credit cards so would use them if pay at pump only). .